Domain 101 For Small Business

One of the things that sometimes can slip the future business owners mind is the importance of their domain. It’s not the space they create their product or give a particular services from, but their companies domain name. Your company domain says a lot about your company. Let’s go through a couple important things regarding your domain.

Own Your Name Immediately

Many people think when it’s time to get a site built is also the time to buy the name. They immediately acquire the social media names but not the domain name. Once you have a name: run! Don’t walk to purchasing the domain name. It is a really small investment on the grand scheme of the master plan. Yes, you might change your name but it’s much worse to acquire the social media name and not be able to acquire the domain name that goes with that business name. You can go on GoDaddy and acquire names easily. Note: when on any site finally acquiring the name, IGNORE the extras — that’s how they get you. Just keep clicking – “no thanks” so you don’t end up with a $150 domain name.

Keep It Short and Sweet

If you are an online boutique you do not need the words boutique – store – or shop in your domain name. You want to keep your URL short and sweet. People have a short attention span and you want them to remember your business. Adding extra words will only distract them. With long names, they might start associating your business with others trying to remember the name. Just use your company name for the URL.

Acquire All Option

Sometimes it is necessary to also purchase the .co, .net and .org. If you believe your business has a catchy name, you want to make sure you have all the domains in your possession rather than having to buy them from someone else. Yes, I have heard stories of people having to acquire their name back at steep prices. Are you about that $5000 domain acquiring life? I am not.

Spelling Counts More Than You Think

Do you know how many closet envy, closet couture, and lux shoe couture companies are out there? It is imperative that your business name be memorable and unique. I literally found out there are five “Closet Envy boutiques,” all spelling their names differently,having different URLs. So when people Google these boutiques, they don’t know if they are on the right one. This means these ladies are losing money to each other by simply not investing in the uniqueness in their name. Make sure your company name is special and that it’s for people to spell.

No Co Branding

As we talked about in the 6 Things You Might’ve Missed on Your Site. A majority of companies build their sites on third party sites (in which have branding all over it). So you are “co-branding” of sorts with them. You want to remove this immediately. Heck, you are not being paid to promote them so why give them free advertising? You can forward and mask your domain name in less than 15 minutes. I am an avid GoDaddy user and they can actually walk you through it.

How have you been seeing your companies domain name? There is more to it than just “yourname.com”.

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Thanks so much Tasha. I swear I am addicted to this site! I have bought a couple e-books as well :). I wanted to know once I purchase a domain, is it mine forever or just for a year at a time? Thanks in advance!

imperfctconcept

Cher, really glad you love the site! That means a lot to me. When you buy you domain from places like Go Daddy you buy it for allotted time. Most people buy it for a year. Then you have renew. You can buy it in bulk years. So if you have an extra $50 laying around call the company and see if they have a 5 year domain name deal that you can purchase.

Im looking to build a website for my company. I sell beauty products and I wanted to know if you recommend any good website builders etc. I feel like what I would pay a graphic designer, I can put into my business. Your input is greatly appreciated. Thanks….